SECTIONS 13370-13389 - California Statutes

WATER CODE

SECTION 13370-13389

13370. The Legislature finds and declares as follows:
(a) The Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. Sec. 1251
et seq.), as amended, provides for permit systems to regulate the
discharge of pollutants and dredged or fill material to the navigable
waters of the United States and to regulate the use and disposal of
sewage sludge.
(b) The Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended, provides
that permits may be issued by states which are authorized to
implement the provisions of that act.
(c) It is in the interest of the people of the state, in order to
avoid direct regulation by the federal government of persons already
subject to regulation under state law pursuant to this division, to
enact this chapter in order to authorize the state to implement the
provisions of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and acts
amendatory thereof or supplementary thereto, and federal regulations
and guidelines issued pursuant thereto, provided, that the state
board shall request federal funding under the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act for the purpose of carrying out its responsibilities
under this program.

13370.5. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that, since the
Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. Sec. 1251 et seq.), as
amended, and applicable federal regulations (40 C.F.R. 403 et seq.)
provide for a pretreatment program to regulate the discharge of
pollutants into publicly owned treatment works and provide that
states with approved national pollutant discharge elimination system
(NPDES) permit programs shall apply for approval of a state
pretreatment program, it is in the interest of the people of the
state to enact this section in order to avoid direct regulation by
the federal government of publicly owned treatment works already
subject to regulation under state law pursuant to this division.
(b) The state board shall develop a state pretreatment program and
shall, not later than September 1, 1985, apply to the Environmental
Protection Agency for approval of the pretreatment program in
accordance with federal requirements.

13372. (a) This chapter shall be construed to ensure consistency
with the requirements for state programs implementing the Federal
Water Pollution Control Act and acts amendatory thereof or
supplementary thereto. To the extent other provisions of this
division are consistent with the provisions of this chapter and with
the requirements for state programs implementing the Federal Water
Pollution Control Act and acts amendatory thereof or supplementary
thereto, those provisions apply to actions and procedures provided
for in this chapter. The provisions of this chapter shall prevail
over other provisions of this division to the extent of any
inconsistency. The provisions of this chapter apply only to actions
required under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and acts
amendatory thereof or supplementary thereto.
(b) The provisions of Section 13376 requiring the filing of a
report for the discharge of dredged or fill material and the
provisions of this chapter relating to the issuance of dredged or
fill material permits by the state board or a regional board shall be
applicable only to discharges for which the state has an approved
permit program, in accordance with the provisions of the Federal
Water Pollution Control Act, as amended, for the discharge of dredged
or fill material.

13373. The terms "navigable waters," "administrator," "pollutants,"
"biological monitoring," "discharge" and "point sources" as used in
this chapter shall have the same meaning as in the Federal Water
Pollution Control Act and acts amendatory thereof or supplementary
thereto.

13374. The term "waste discharge requirements" as referred to in
this division is the equivalent of the term "permits" as used in the
Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended.

13375. The discharge of any radiological, chemical, or biological
warfare agent into the waters of the state is hereby prohibited.

13376. A person who discharges pollutants or proposes to discharge
pollutants to the navigable waters of the United States within the
jurisdiction of this state or a person who discharges dredged or fill
material or proposes to discharge dredged or fill material into the
navigable waters of the United States within the jurisdiction of this
state shall file a report of the discharge in compliance with the
procedures set forth in Section 13260. Unless required by the state
board or a regional board, a report need not be filed under this
section for discharges that are not subject to the permit application
requirements of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended.
A person who proposes to discharge pollutants or dredged or fill
material or to operate a publicly owned treatment works or other
treatment works treating domestic sewage shall file a report at least
180 days in advance of the date on which it is desired to commence
the discharge of pollutants or dredged or fill material or the
operation of the treatment works. A person who owns or operates a
publicly owned treatment works or other treatment works treating
domestic sewage, which treatment works commenced operation before
January 1, 1988, and does not discharge to navigable waters of the
United States, shall file a report within 45 days of a written
request by a regional board or the state board, or within 45 days
after the state has an approved permit program for the use and
disposal of sewage sludge, whichever occurs earlier. The discharge of
pollutants or dredged or fill material or the operation of a
publicly owned treatment works or other treatment works treating
domestic sewage by any person, except as authorized by waste
discharge requirements or dredged or fill material permits, is
prohibited. This prohibition does not apply to discharges or
operations if a state or federal permit is not required under the
Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended.

13377. Notwithstanding any other provision of this division, the
state board or the regional boards shall, as required or authorized
by the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended, issue waste
discharge requirements and dredged or fill material permits which
apply and ensure compliance with all applicable provisions of the act
and acts amendatory thereof or supplementary, thereto, together with
any more stringent effluent standards or limitations necessary to
implement water quality control plans, or for the protection of
beneficial uses, or to prevent nuisance.

13378. Waste discharge requirements and dredged or fill material
permits shall be adopted only after notice and any necessary hearing.
Such requirements or permits shall be adopted for a fixed term not
to exceed five years for any proposed discharge, existing discharge,
or any material change therein.

13380. Any waste discharge requirements or dredged or fill material
permits adopted under this chapter shall be reviewed at least every
five years and, if appropriate, revised.

13381. Waste discharge requirements or dredged or fill material
permits may be terminated or modified for cause, including, but not
limited to, all of the following:
(a) Violation of any condition contained in the requirements or
permits.
(b) Obtaining the requirements by misrepresentation, or failure to
disclose fully all relevant facts.
(c) A change in any condition that requires either a temporary or
permanent reduction or elimination of the permitted discharge.

13382. Waste discharge requirements shall be adopted to control the
disposal of pollutants into wells or in areas where pollutants may
enter into a well from the surrounding groundwater.

13382.5. Waste discharge requirements shall be adopted to permit
the discharge of a specific pollutant or pollutants in a controlled
manner from a point source to a defined managed aquaculture project
if such discharge meets all applicable requirements of the Federal
Water Pollution Control Act and acts amendatory thereof and
supplementary thereto, together with any more stringent effluent
standards or limitations necessary to implement water quality control
plans.

13383. (a) The state board or a regional board may establish
monitoring, inspection, entry, reporting, and recordkeeping
requirements, as authorized by Section 13160, 13376, or 13377 or by
subdivisions (b) and (c) of this section, for any person who
discharges, or proposes to discharge, to navigable waters, any person
who introduces pollutants into a publicly owned treatment works, any
person who owns or operates, or proposes to own or operate, a
publicly owned treatment works or other treatment works treating
domestic sewage, or any person who uses or disposes, or proposes to
use or dispose, of sewage sludge.
(b) The state board or the regional boards may require any person
subject to this section to establish and maintain monitoring
equipment or methods, including, where appropriate, biological
monitoring methods, sample effluent as prescribed, and provide other
information as may be reasonably required.
(c) The state board or a regional board may inspect the facilities
of any person subject to this section pursuant to the procedure set
forth in subdivision (c) of Section 13267.

13383.5. (a) As used in this section, "regulated municipalities and
industries" means the municipalities and industries required to
obtain a storm water permit under Section 402(p) of the Clean Water
Act (33 U.S.C. Sec. 1342(p)) and implementing regulations.
(b) This section only applies to regulated municipalities that
were subject to a storm water permit on or before December 31, 2001,
and to regulated industries that are subject to the General Permit
for Storm Water Discharges Associated with Industrial Activities
Excluding Construction Activities.
(c) Before January 1, 2003, the state board shall develop minimum
monitoring requirements for each regulated municipality and minimum
standard monitoring requirements for regulated industries. This
program shall include, but is not limited to, all of the following:
(1) Standardized methods for collection of storm water samples.
(2) Standardized methods for analysis of storm water samples.
(3) A requirement that every sample analysis under this program be
completed by a state certified laboratory or by the regulated
municipality or industry in the field in accordance with the quality
assurance and quality control protocols established pursuant to this
section.
(4) A standardized reporting format.
(5) Standard sampling and analysis programs for quality assurance
and quality control.
(6) Minimum detection limits.
(7) Annual reporting requirements for regulated municipalities and
industries.
(8) For the purposes of determining constituents to be sampled
for, sampling intervals, and sampling frequencies, to be included in
a municipal storm water permit monitoring program, the regional board
shall consider the following information, as the regional board
determines to be applicable:
(A) Discharge characterization monitoring data.
(B) Water quality data collected through the permit monitoring
program.
(C) Applicable water quality data collected, analyzed, and
reported by federal, state, and local agencies, and other public and
private entities.
(D) Any applicable listing under Section 303(d) of the Clean Water
Act (33 U.S.C. Sec. 1313).
(E) Applicable water quality objectives and criteria established
in accordance with the regional board basin plans, statewide plans,
and federal regulations.
(F) Reports and studies regarding source contribution of
pollutants in runoff not based on direct water quality measurements.
(d) The requirements prescribed pursuant to this section shall be
included in all storm water permits for regulated municipalities and
industries that are reissued following development of the
requirements described in subdivision (c). Those permits shall
include these provisions on or before July 1, 2008. In a year in
which the Legislature appropriates sufficient funds for that purpose,
the state board shall make available to the public via the Internet
a summary of the results obtained from storm water monitoring
conducted in accordance with this section.

13383.6. On and after January 1, 2007, if a regional board or the
state board issues a municipal stormwater permit pursuant to Section
402(p) of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. Sec. 1342(p)) that includes
a requirement to provide elementary and secondary public schools with
educational materials on stormwater pollution, the permittee may
satisfy the requirement, upon approval by the regional board or state
board, by contributing an equivalent amount of funds to the
Environmental Education Account established pursuant to subdivision
(a) of Section 71305 of the Public Resources Code.

13383.7. (a) No later than July 1, 2009, and after holding public
workshops and soliciting public comments, the state board shall
develop a comprehensive guidance document for evaluating and
measuring the effectiveness of municipal stormwater management
programs undertaken, and permits issued, in accordance with Section
402(p) of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. Sec. 1342(p)) and this
division.
(b) For the purpose of implementing subdivision (a), the state
board shall promote the use of quantifiable measures for evaluating
the effectiveness of municipal stormwater management programs and
provide for the evaluation of, at a minimum, all of the following:
(1) Compliance with stormwater permitting requirements, including
all of the following:
(A) Inspection programs.
(B) Construction controls.
(C) Elimination of unlawful discharges.
(D) Public education programs.
(E) New development and redevelopment requirements.
(2) Reduction of pollutant loads from pollution sources.
(3) Reduction of pollutants or stream erosion due to stormwater
discharge.
(4) Improvements in the quality of receiving water in accordance
with water quality standards.
(c) The state board and the regional boards shall refer to the
guidance document developed pursuant to subdivision (a) when
establishing requirements in municipal stormwater programs and
permits.

13383.8. (a) The state board shall appoint a stormwater management
task force comprised of public agencies, representatives of the
regulated community, and nonprofit organizations with expertise in
water quality and stormwater management. The task force shall provide
advice to the state board on its stormwater management program that
may include, but is not limited to, program priorities, funding
criteria, project selection, and interagency coordination of state
programs that address stormwater management.
(b) The state board shall submit a report, including, but not
limited to, stormwater and other polluted runoff control information,
to the Ocean Protection Council no later than January 1, 2009, on
the way in which the state board is implementing the priority goals
and objectives of the council's strategic plan.

13384. The state board or the regional boards shall ensure that the
public, and that any other state, the waters of which may be
affected by any discharge of pollutants or dredged or fill material
to navigable waters within this state, shall receive notice of each
application for requirements or report of waste discharge or
application for a dredged or fill material permit or report of
dredged or fill material discharge and are provided an opportunity
for public hearing before adoption of such requirements or permit.

13385. (a) A person who violates any of the following shall be
liable civilly in accordance with this section:
(1) Section 13375 or 13376.
(2) A waste discharge requirement or dredged or fill material
permit issued pursuant to this chapter or any water quality
certification issued pursuant to Section 13160.
(3) A requirement established pursuant to Section 13383.
(4) An order or prohibition issued pursuant to Section 13243 or
Article 1 (commencing with Section 13300) of Chapter 5, if the
activity subject to the order or prohibition is subject to regulation
under this chapter.
(5) A requirement of Section 301, 302, 306, 307, 308, 318, 401, or
405 of the Clean Water Act, as amended.
(6) A requirement imposed in a pretreatment program approved
pursuant to waste discharge requirements issued under Section 13377
or approved pursuant to a permit issued by the administrator.
(b) Civil liability may be imposed by the superior court in an
amount not to exceed the sum of both of the following:
(1) Twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) for each day in which
the violation occurs.
(2) Where there is a discharge, any portion of which is not
susceptible to cleanup or is not cleaned up, and the volume
discharged but not cleaned up exceeds 1,000 gallons, an additional
liability not to exceed twenty-five dollars ($25) multiplied by the
number of gallons by which the volume discharged but not cleaned up
exceeds 1,000 gallons.
The Attorney General, upon request of a regional board or the
state board, shall petition the superior court to impose the
liability.
(c) Civil liability may be imposed administratively by the state
board or a regional board pursuant to Article 2.5 (commencing with
Section 13323) of Chapter 5 in an amount not to exceed the sum of
both of the following:
(1) Ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for each day in which the
violation occurs.
(2) Where there is a discharge, any portion of which is not
susceptible to cleanup or is not cleaned up, and the volume
discharged but not cleaned up exceeds 1,000 gallons, an additional
liability not to exceed ten dollars ($10) multiplied by the number of
gallons by which the volume discharged but not cleaned up exceeds
1,000 gallons.
(d) For purposes of subdivisions (b) and (c), "discharge" includes
any discharge to navigable waters of the United States, any
introduction of pollutants into a publicly owned treatment works, or
any use or disposal of sewage sludge.
(e) In determining the amount of any liability imposed under this
section, the regional board, the state board, or the superior court,
as the case may be, shall take into account the nature,
circumstances, extent, and gravity of the violation or violations,
whether the discharge is susceptible to cleanup or abatement, the
degree of toxicity of the discharge, and, with respect to the
violator, the ability to pay, the effect on its ability to continue
its business, any voluntary cleanup efforts undertaken, any prior
history of violations, the degree of culpability, economic benefit or
savings, if any, resulting from the violation, and other matters
that justice may require. At a minimum, liability shall be assessed
at a level that recovers the economic benefits, if any, derived from
the acts that constitute the violation.
(f) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), for the purposes of
this section, a single operational upset that leads to simultaneous
violations of more than one pollutant parameter shall be treated as a
single violation.
(2) (A) For the purposes of subdivisions (h) and (i), a single
operational upset in a wastewater treatment unit that treats
wastewater using a biological treatment process shall be treated as a
single violation, even if the operational upset results in
violations of more than one effluent limitation and the violations
continue for a period of more than one day, if all of the following
apply:
(i) The discharger demonstrates all of the following:
(I) The upset was not caused by wastewater treatment operator
error and was not due to discharger negligence.
(II) But for the operational upset of the biological treatment
process, the violations would not have occurred nor would they have
continued for more than one day.
(III) The discharger carried out all reasonable and immediately
feasible actions to reduce noncompliance with the applicable effluent
limitations.
(ii) The discharger is implementing an approved pretreatment
program, if so required by federal or state law.
(B) Subparagraph (A) only applies to violations that occur during
a period for which the regional board has determined that violations
are unavoidable, but in no case may that period exceed 30 days.
(g) Remedies under this section are in addition to, and do not
supersede or limit, any other remedies, civil or criminal, except
that no liability shall be recoverable under Section 13261, 13265,
13268, or 13350 for violations for which liability is recovered under
this section.
(h) (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this division, and
except as provided in subdivisions (j), (k), and (l), a mandatory
minimum penalty of three thousand dollars ($3,000) shall be assessed
for each serious violation.
(2) For the purposes of this section, a "serious violation" means
any waste discharge that violates the effluent limitations contained
in the applicable waste discharge requirements for a Group II
pollutant, as specified in Appendix A to Section 123.45 of Title 40
of the Code of Federal Regulations, by 20 percent or more or for a
Group I pollutant, as specified in Appendix A to Section 123.45 of
Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations, by 40 percent or more.
(i) (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this division, and
except as provided in subdivisions (j), (k), and (l), a mandatory
minimum penalty of three thousand dollars ($3,000) shall be assessed
for each violation whenever the person does any of the following four
or more times in any period of six consecutive months, except that
the requirement to assess the mandatory minimum penalty shall not be
applicable to the first three violations:
(A) Violates a waste discharge requirement effluent limitation.
(B) Fails to file a report pursuant to Section 13260.
(C) Files an incomplete report pursuant to Section 13260.
(D) Violates a toxicity effluent limitation contained in the
applicable waste discharge requirements where the waste discharge
requirements do not contain pollutant-specific effluent limitations
for toxic pollutants.
(2) For the purposes of this section, a "period of six consecutive
months" means the period commencing on the date that one of the
violations described in this subdivision occurs and ending 180 days
after that date.
(j) Subdivisions (h) and (i) do not apply to any of the following:
(1) A violation caused by one or any combination of the following:
(A) An act of war.
(B) An unanticipated, grave natural disaster or other natural
phenomenon of an exceptional, inevitable, and irresistible character,
the effects of which could not have been prevented or avoided by the
exercise of due care or foresight.
(C) An intentional act of a third party, the effects of which
could not have been prevented or avoided by the exercise of due care
or foresight.
(D) (i) The operation of a new or reconstructed wastewater
treatment unit during a defined period of adjusting or testing, not
to exceed 90 days for a wastewater treatment unit that relies on a
biological treatment process and not to exceed 30 days for any other
wastewater treatment unit, if all of the following requirements are
met:
(I) The discharger has submitted to the regional board, at least
30 days in advance of the operation, an operations plan that
describes the actions the discharger will take during the period of
adjusting and testing, including steps to prevent violations and
identifies the shortest reasonable time required for the period of
adjusting and testing, not to exceed 90 days for a wastewater
treatment unit that relies on a biological treatment process and not
to exceed 30 days for any other wastewater treatment unit.
(II) The regional board has not objected in writing to the
operations plan.
(III) The discharger demonstrates that the violations resulted
from the operation of the new or reconstructed wastewater treatment
unit and that the violations could not have reasonably been avoided.
(IV) The discharger demonstrates compliance with the operations
plan.
(V) In the case of a reconstructed wastewater treatment unit, the
unit relies on a biological treatment process that is required to be
out of operation for at least 14 days in order to perform the
reconstruction, or the unit is required to be out of operation for at
least 14 days and, at the time of the reconstruction, the cost of
reconstructing the unit exceeds 50 percent of the cost of replacing
the wastewater treatment unit.
(ii) For the purposes of this section, "wastewater treatment unit"
means a component of a wastewater treatment plant that performs a
designated treatment function.
(2) (A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), a violation of an
effluent limitation where the waste discharge is in compliance with
either a cease and desist order issued pursuant to Section 13301 or a
time schedule order issued pursuant to Section 13300, if all of the
following requirements are met:
(i) The cease and desist order or time schedule order is issued
after January 1, 1995, but not later than July 1, 2000, specifies the
actions that the discharger is required to take in order to correct
the violations that would otherwise be subject to subdivisions (h)
and (i), and the date by which compliance is required to be achieved
and, if the final date by which compliance is required to be achieved
is later than one year from the effective date of the cease and
desist order or time schedule order, specifies the interim
requirements by which progress towards compliance will be measured
and the date by which the discharger will be in compliance with each
interim requirement.
(ii) The discharger has prepared and is implementing in a timely
and proper manner, or is required by the regional board to prepare
and implement, a pollution prevention plan that meets the
requirements of Section 13263.3.
(iii) The discharger demonstrates that it has carried out all
reasonable and immediately feasible actions to reduce noncompliance
with the waste discharge requirements applicable to the waste
discharge and the executive officer of the regional board concurs
with the demonstration.
(B) Subdivisions (h) and (i) shall become applicable to a waste
discharge on the date the waste discharge requirements applicable to
the waste discharge are revised and reissued pursuant to Section
13380, unless the regional board does all of the following on or
before that date:
(i) Modifies the requirements of the cease and desist order or
time schedule order as may be necessary to make it fully consistent
with the reissued waste discharge requirements.
(ii) Establishes in the modified cease and desist order or time
schedule order a date by which full compliance with the reissued
waste discharge requirements shall be achieved. For the purposes of
this subdivision, the regional board may not establish this date
later than five years from the date the waste discharge requirements
were required to be reviewed pursuant to Section 13380. If the
reissued waste discharge requirements do not add new effluent
limitations or do not include effluent limitations that are more
stringent than those in the original waste discharge requirements,
the date shall be the same as the final date for compliance in the
original cease and desist order or time schedule order or five years
from the date that the waste discharge requirements were required to
be reviewed pursuant to Section 13380, whichever is earlier.
(iii) Determines that the pollution prevention plan required by
clause (ii) of subparagraph (A) is in compliance with the
requirements of Section 13263.3 and that the discharger is
implementing the pollution prevention plan in a timely and proper
manner.
(3) A violation of an effluent limitation where the waste
discharge is in compliance with either a cease and desist order
issued pursuant to Section 13301 or a time schedule order issued
pursuant to Section 13300 or 13308, if all of the following
requirements are met:
(A) The cease and desist order or time schedule order is issued on
or after July 1, 2000, and specifies the actions that the discharger
is required to take in order to correct the violations that would
otherwise be subject to subdivisions (h) and (i).
(B) The regional board finds that, for one of the following
reasons, the discharger is not able to consistently comply with one
or more of the effluent limitations established in the waste
discharge requirements applicable to the waste discharge:
(i) The effluent limitation is a new, more stringent, or modified
regulatory requirement that has become applicable to the waste
discharge after the effective date of the waste discharge
requirements and after July 1, 2000, new or modified control measures
are necessary in order to comply with the effluent limitation, and
the new or modified control measures cannot be designed, installed,
and put into operation within 30 calendar days.
(ii) New methods for detecting or measuring a pollutant in the
waste discharge demonstrate that new or modified control measures are
necessary in order to comply with the effluent limitation and the
new or modified control measures cannot be designed, installed, and
put into operation within 30 calendar days.
(iii) Unanticipated changes in the quality of the municipal or
industrial water supply available to the discharger are the cause of
unavoidable changes in the composition of the waste discharge, the
changes in the composition of the waste discharge are the cause of
the inability to comply with the effluent limitation, no alternative
water supply is reasonably available to the discharger, and new or
modified measures to control the composition of the waste discharge
cannot be designed, installed, and put into operation within 30
calendar days.
(iv) The discharger is a publicly owned treatment works located in
Orange County that is unable to meet effluent limitations for
biological oxygen demand, suspended solids, or both, because the
publicly owned treatment works meets all of the following criteria:
(I) Was previously operating under modified secondary treatment
requirements pursuant to Section 301(h) of the Clean Water Act (33
U.S.C. Sec. 1311(h)).
(II) Did vote on July 17, 2002, not to apply for a renewal of the
modified secondary treatment requirements.
(III) Is in the process of upgrading its treatment facilities to
meet the secondary treatment standards required by Section 301(b)(1)
(B) of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. Sec. 1311(b)(1)(B)).
(C) (i) The regional board establishes a time schedule for
bringing the waste discharge into compliance with the effluent
limitation that is as short as possible, taking into account the
technological, operational, and economic factors that affect the
design, development, and implementation of the control measures that
are necessary to comply with the effluent limitation. Except as
provided in clause (ii), for the purposes of this subdivision, the
time schedule shall not exceed five years in length.
(ii) (I) For purposes of the upgrade described in subclause (III)
of clause (iv) of subparagraph (B), the time schedule shall not
exceed 10 years in length.
(II) Following a public hearing, and upon a showing that the
discharger is making diligent progress toward bringing the waste
discharge into compliance with the effluent limitation, the regional
board may extend the time schedule for an additional period not
exceeding five years in length, if the discharger demonstrates that
the additional time is necessary to comply with the effluent
limitation. This subclause does not apply to a time schedule
described in subclause (I).
(iii) If the time schedule exceeds one year from the effective
date of the order, the schedule shall include interim requirements
and the dates for their achievement. The interim requirements shall
include both of the following:
(I) Effluent limitations for the pollutant or pollutants of
concern.
(II) Actions and milestones leading to compliance with the
effluent limitation.
(D) The discharger has prepared and is implementing in a timely
and proper manner, or is required by the regional board to prepare
and implement, a pollution prevention plan pursuant to Section
13263.3.
(k) (1) In lieu of assessing all or a portion of the mandatory
minimum penalties pursuant to subdivisions (h) and (i) against a
publicly owned treatment works serving a small community, the state
board or the regional board may elect to require the publicly owned
treatment works to spend an equivalent amount towards the completion
of a compliance project proposed by the publicly owned treatment
works, if the state board or the regional board finds all of the
following:
(A) The compliance project is designed to correct the violations
within five years.
(B) The compliance project is in accordance with the enforcement
policy of the state board, excluding any provision in the policy that
is inconsistent with this section.
(C) The publicly owned treatment works has prepared a financing
plan to complete the compliance project.
(2) For the purposes of this subdivision, "a publicly owned
treatment works serving a small community" means a publicly owned
treatment works serving a population of 10,000 persons or fewer or a
rural county, with a financial hardship as determined by the state
board after considering such factors as median income of the
residents, rate of unemployment, or low population density in the
service area of the publicly owned treatment works.
(l) (1) In lieu of assessing penalties pursuant to subdivision (h)
or (i), the state board or the regional board, with the concurrence
of the discharger, may direct a portion of the penalty amount to be
expended on a supplemental environmental project in accordance with
the enforcement policy of the state board. If the penalty amount
exceeds fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000), the portion of the
penalty amount that may be directed to be expended on a supplemental
environmental project may not exceed fifteen thousand dollars
($15,000) plus 50 percent of the penalty amount that exceeds fifteen
thousand dollars ($15,000).
(2) For the purposes of this section, a "supplemental
environmental project" means an environmentally beneficial project
that a person agrees to undertake, with the approval of the regional
board, that would not be undertaken in the absence of an enforcement
action under this section.
(3) This subdivision applies to the imposition of penalties
pursuant to subdivision (h) or (i) on or after January 1, 2003,
without regard to the date on which the violation occurs.
(m) The Attorney General, upon request of a regional board or the
state board, shall petition the appropriate court to collect any
liability or penalty imposed pursuant to this section. Any person who
fails to pay on a timely basis any liability or penalty imposed
under this section shall be required to pay, in addition to that
liability or penalty, interest, attorney's fees, costs for collection
proceedings, and a quarterly nonpayment penalty for each quarter
during which the failure to pay persists. The nonpayment penalty
shall be in an amount equal to 20 percent of the aggregate amount of
the person's penalty and nonpayment penalties that are unpaid as of
the beginning of the quarter.
(n) (1) Subject to paragraph (2), funds collected pursuant to this
section shall be deposited in the State Water Pollution Cleanup and
Abatement Account.
(2) (A) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, moneys
collected for a violation of a water quality certification in
accordance with paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) or for a violation
of Section 401 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. Sec. 1341) in
accordance with paragraph (5) of subdivision (a) shall be deposited
in the Waste Discharge Permit Fund and separately accounted for in
that fund.
(B) The funds described in subparagraph (A) shall be expended by
the state board, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to assist
regional boards, and other public agencies with authority to clean up
waste or abate the effects of the waste, in cleaning up or abating
the effects of the waste on waters of the state or for the purposes
authorized in Section 13443.
(o) The state board shall continuously report and update
information on its Internet Web site, but at a minimum, annually on
or before January 1, regarding its enforcement activities. The
information shall include all of the following:
(1) A compilation of the number of violations of waste discharge
requirements in the previous calendar year, including stormwater
enforcement violations.
(2) A record of the formal and informal compliance and enforcement
actions taken for each violation, including stormwater enforcement
actions.
(3) An analysis of the effectiveness of current enforcement
policies, including mandatory minimum penalties.
(p) The amendments made to subdivisions (f), (h), (i), and (j)
during the second year of the 2001-02 Regular Session apply only to
violations that occur on or after January 1, 2003.

13385.1. (a) (1) For the purposes of subdivision (h) of Section
13385, a "serious violation" also means a failure to file a discharge
monitoring report required pursuant to Section 13383 for each
complete period of 30 days following the deadline for submitting the
report, if the report is designed to ensure compliance with
limitations contained in waste discharge requirements that contain
effluent limitations. This paragraph applies only to violations that
occur on or after January 1, 2004.
(2) (A) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a failure to file a
discharge monitoring report is not a serious violation for purposes
of subdivision (h) of Section 13385 at any time prior to the date a
discharge monitoring report is required to be filed or within 30 days
after receiving written notice from the state board or a regional
board of the need to file a discharge monitoring report, if the
discharger submits a written statement to the state board or the
regional board that includes both of the following:
(i) A statement that there were no discharges to waters of the
United States reportable under the applicable waste discharge
requirements during the relevant monitoring period.
(ii) The reason or reasons the required report was not submitted
to the regional board by the deadline for filing that report.
(B) Upon the request of the state board or regional board, the
discharger may be required to support the statement with additional
explanation or evidence.
(C) If, in a statement submitted pursuant to subparagraph (A), the
discharger willfully states as true any material fact that he or she
knows to be false, that person shall be subject to a civil penalty
not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000). Any public prosecutor
may bring an action for a civil penalty under this subparagraph in
the name of the people of the State of California, and the penalty
imposed shall be enforced as a civil judgment.
(D) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), the failure to file a
discharge monitoring report is subject to penalties in accordance
with subdivisions (c) and (e) of Section 13385.
(b) (1) Notwithstanding paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), a
mandatory minimum penalty shall continue to apply and shall be
assessed pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 13385, but only for
each required report that is not timely filed, and shall not be
separately assessed for each 30-day period following the deadline for
submitting the report, if both of the following conditions are met:
(A) The discharger did not on any occasion previously receive,
from the state board or a regional board, a complaint to impose
liability pursuant to subdivision (b) or (c) of Section 13385 arising
from a failure to timely file a discharge monitoring report, a
notice of violation for failure to timely file a discharge monitoring
report, or a notice of the obligation to file a discharge monitoring
report required pursuant to Section 13383, in connection with its
corresponding waste discharge requirements.
(B) The discharges during the period or periods covered by the
report do not violate effluent limitations, as defined in subdivision
(d), contained in waste discharge requirements.
(2) Paragraph (1) shall only apply to a discharger who does both
of the following:
(A) Files a discharge monitoring report that had not previously
been timely filed within 30 days after the discharger receives
written notice, including notice transmitted by electronic mail, from
the state board or regional board concerning the failure to timely
file the report.
(B) Pays all penalties assessed by the state board or regional
board in accordance with paragraph (1) within 30 days after an order
is issued to pay these penalties pursuant to Section 13385.
(3) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the failure to file a discharge
monitoring report is subject to penalties in accordance with
subdivisions (c) and (e) of Section 13385.
(4) This subdivision shall become inoperative on January 1, 2014.
(c) (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, moneys
collected pursuant to this section for a failure to timely file a
report, as described in subdivision (a), shall be deposited in the
State Water Pollution Cleanup and Abatement Account.
(2) Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, the
funds described in paragraph (1) are continuously appropriated,
without regard to fiscal years, to the state board for expenditure by
the state board to assist regional boards, and other public agencies
with authority to clean up waste or abate the effects of the waste,
in responding to significant water pollution problems.
(d) For the purposes of this section, paragraph (2) of subdivision
(f) of Section 13385, and subdivisions (h), (i), and (j) of Section
13385 only, "effluent limitation" means a numeric restriction or a
numerically expressed narrative restriction, on the quantity,
discharge rate, concentration, or toxicity units of a pollutant or
pollutants that may be discharged from an authorized location. An
effluent limitation may be final or interim, and may be expressed as
a prohibition. An effluent limitation, for those purposes, does not
include a receiving water limitation, a compliance schedule, or a
best management practice.
(e) The amendments made to this section by Senate Bill 1284 of the
2009-10 Regular Session of the Legislature shall apply to violations
for which an administrative civil liability complaint or a judicial
complaint has not been filed before July 1, 2010, without regard to
the date on which the violations occurred.

13385.2. (a) Prior to the state board or regional board making its
findings pursuant to subdivision (k) of Section 13385, the publicly
owned treatment works shall demonstrate to the satisfaction of the
state board or regional board that the financing plan prepared
pursuant to subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (k) of
that section is designed to generate sufficient funding to complete
the compliance project within the time period specified pursuant to
subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (k) of that section.
(b) This section shall only become operative if Senate Bill 1733
of the 2005-06 Regular Session is enacted and becomes operative.

13385.3. (a) The amendments made to subdivision (k) of Section
13385 of the Water Code by Senate Bill 1733 of the 2005-06 Regular
Session shall become operative on July 1, 2007.
(b) This section shall only become operative if Senate Bill 1733
of the 2005-06 Regular Session is enacted and becomes operative.

13386. Upon any threatened or continuing violation of any of the
requirements listed in paragraphs (1) to (6), inclusive, of
subdivision (a) of Section 13385, or upon the failure of any
discharger into a public treatment system to comply with any cost or
charge adopted by any public agency under Section 204(b) of the
Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended, the Attorney
General, upon the request of the state board or regional board shall
petition the appropriate court for the issuance of a preliminary or
permanent injunction, or both, as appropriate, restraining that
person or persons from committing or continuing the violation.
Subdivision (b) of Section 13331 shall be applicable to proceedings
under this section.

13387. (a) Any person who knowingly or negligently does any of the
following is subject to criminal penalties as provided in
subdivisions (b), (c), and (d):
(1) Violates Section 13375 or 13376.
(2) Violates any waste discharge requirements or dredged or fill
material permit issued pursuant to this chapter or any water quality
certification issued pursuant to Section 13160.
(3) Violates any order or prohibition issued pursuant to Section
13243 or 13301, if the activity subject to the order or prohibition
is subject to regulation under this chapter.
(4) Violates any requirement of Section 301, 302, 306, 307, 308,
318, 401, or 405 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. Sec. 1311, 1312,
1316, 1317, 1318, 1328, 1341, or 1345), as amended.
(5) Introduces into a sewer system or into a publicly owned
treatment works any pollutant or hazardous substances that the person
knew or reasonably should have known could cause personal injury or
property damage.
(6) Introduces any pollutant or hazardous substance into a sewer
system or into a publicly owned treatment works, except in accordance
with any applicable pretreatment requirements, which causes the
treatment works to violate waste discharge requirements.
(b) Any person who negligently commits any of the violations set
forth in subdivision (a) shall, upon conviction, be punished by a
fine of not less than five thousand dollars ($5,000), nor more than
twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000), for each day in which the
violation occurs, by imprisonment for not more than one year in a
county jail, or by both that fine and imprisonment. If a conviction
of a person is for a violation committed after a first conviction of
the person under this subdivision, subdivision (c), or subdivision
(d), punishment shall be by a fine of not more than fifty thousand
dollars ($50,000) for each day in which the violation occurs, by
imprisonment in the state prison for 16, 20, or 24 months, or by both
that fine and imprisonment.
(c) Any person who knowingly commits any of the violations set
forth in subdivision (a) shall, upon conviction, be punished by a
fine of not less than five thousand dollars ($5,000), nor more than
fifty thousand dollars ($50,000), for each day in which the violation
occurs, by imprisonment in the state prison, or by both that fine
and imprisonment. If a conviction of a person is for a violation
committed after a first conviction of the person under this
subdivision or subdivision (d), punishment shall be by a fine of not
more than one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) for each day in
which the violation occurs, by imprisonment in the state prison for
two, four, or six years, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
(d) (1) Any person who knowingly commits any of the violations set
forth in subdivision (a), and who knows at the time that the person
thereby places another person in imminent danger of death or serious
bodily injury, shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not
more than two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000), imprisonment
in the state prison for 5, 10, or 15 years, or by both that fine and
imprisonment. A person that is an organization shall, upon
conviction under this subdivision, be subject to a fine of not more
than one million dollars ($1,000,000). If a conviction of a person is
for a violation committed after a first conviction of the person
under this subdivision, the punishment shall be by a fine of not more
than five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000), by imprisonment in
the state prison for 10, 20, or 30 years, or by both that fine and
imprisonment. A person that is an organization shall, upon conviction
for a violation committed after a first conviction of the person
under this subdivision, be subject to a fine of not more than two
million dollars ($2,000,000). Any fines imposed pursuant to this
subdivision shall be in addition to any fines imposed pursuant to
subdivision (c).
(2) In determining whether a defendant who is an individual knew
that the defendant's conduct placed another person in imminent danger
of death or serious bodily injury, the defendant is responsible only
for actual awareness or actual belief that the defendant possessed,
and knowledge possessed by a person other than the defendant, but not
by the defendant personally, cannot be attributed to the defendant.
(e) Any person who knowingly makes any false statement,
representation, or certification in any record, report, plan, notice
to comply, or other document filed with a regional board or the state
board, or who knowingly falsifies, tampers with, or renders
inaccurate any monitoring device or method required under this
division shall be punished by a fine of not more than twenty-five
thousand dollars ($25,000), by imprisonment in the state prison for
16, 20, or 24 months, or by both that fine and imprisonment. If a
conviction of a person is for a violation committed after a first
conviction of the person under this subdivision, punishment shall be
by a fine of not more than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) per
day of violation, by imprisonment in the state prison for two,
three, or four years, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
(f) For purposes of this section, a single operational upset which
leads to simultaneous violations of more than one pollutant
parameter shall be treated as a single violation.
(g) For purposes of this section, "organization," "serious bodily
injury," "person," and "hazardous substance" shall have the same
meaning as in Section 309(c) of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. Sec.
1319(c)), as amended.
(h) (1) Subject to paragraph (2), funds collected pursuant to this
section shall be deposited in the State Water Pollution Cleanup and
Abatement Account.
(2) (A) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, fines
collected for a violation of a water quality certification in
accordance with paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) or for a violation
of Section 401 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. Sec. 1341) in
accordance with paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) shall be deposited
in the Water Discharge Permit Fund and separately accounted for in
that fund.
(B) The funds described in subparagraph (A) shall be expended by
the state board, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to assist
regional boards, and other public agencies with authority to clean up
waste or abate the effects of the waste, in cleaning up or abating
the effects of the waste on waters of the state, or for the purposes
authorized in Section 13443.

13388. Notwithstanding any other provision of this division or
Section 175, no person shall be a member of the state board or a
regional board if he receives or has received during the previous two
years a significant portion of his income directly or indirectly
from any person subject to waste discharge requirements or applicants
for waste discharge requirements pursuant to this chapter. This
section shall become operative on March 1, 1973.

13389. Neither the state board nor the regional boards shall be
required to comply with the provisions of Chapter 3 (commencing with
Section 21100) of Division 13 of the Public Resources Code prior to
the adoption of any waste discharge requirement, except requirements
for new sources as defined in the Federal Water Pollution Control Act
or acts amendatory thereof or supplementary thereto.